Feank m



F. M. THOMSON.

PstolHolster'.

lPaten'feol )une 22,1880.

N. PETE-RS, PNOTGLJTHOGHAFHER. WASHINGTON. D. C

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

FRANK M. THOMSON, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

PISTOL-HOLSTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 229,208, dated June 22, 1880.

Application filed May 8, 1880.

To all 'whom it 'may concern Be it known that I, FRANK M. THOMSON, of Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and Improved Holster; and I do hereby declare 'the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had -to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure lis a perspective view, and Fig. 2 an end view.

Similar letters of reference in the several gures denote the same parts.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved holster, into which a revolver or pistol can be easily and quickly slipped, and which will hold the revolver securely when entered, and from which the revolver can be readily disengaged and withdrawn when desired, without the necessity of undoing naps, straps, or other fastening devices, as in the common holster.

To this end my invention consists oi' a holi ster composed of leather, rubber, paper, vulcanized fiber,or other flexible material, having a laterallycontraeted mouth which expands to permit the entrance of the revolver, but contracts again after the revolver is fully en-` tered, so as to clasp the revolver back of the cylinder or the enlargements on its sides, and thus securely hold it until withdrawn by a positive pull upon it.

It further consists in the peculiar manner of constructing the contracted mouth, all which I will now proceed to describe.

In the drawings, A represents the body of the holster or case, composed of leather, rubber, paper, vulcanized ber, or other suitable iieXible material, though preferably of leather, and of the gen eral form of the ordinary holster. Y.

The lateral sides s s of the mouth are rounded down to the ends a a in the manner shown, and each side is slitted near the end a, and the parts b l), adjoining the slits, overlapped and secured together by sewing and rivets, or otherwise, thus, producing a contraction or convergence of the sides, and causing shoulders b b to be formed at the inner ends of the slits,

(Model.)

as shown. The sides s s are made curved or rounded, for the purpose of enabling them to open and close more readily. li

Where paper, rubber, 85e., are used in the construction of the holster, the whole article may be molded in one piece, and the necessity of slitting the sides to contract them obviated.

As the revolver is forced" into the holster the exible sides yield and expand till, the cartridge-cylinder has passed them, whereupon they again contract and close around the cylinder, with the shoulders ll b in rear thereof. The revolver is thus held securely within the holster until withdrawn by a positive pull upon it.

To facilitate the introduction and removal of the revolver, the ends a a of the mouth ot'V the holster may be pressed slightly toward each other; but this is not necessary,as either operation can be easily performed without touching the holster with the hand. at all.

. Gases for carbines, riiies, and shot-guns can be made on the same principle as the revolverholster, it being only requisite that the form of the article be slightly varied to adapt it to the different styles of tire-arms.

The invention may also be embodied in the form of a knifecase or sheath for knives which have lateral projections at the base of the blade or on the handle, as will be apparent.

Where the holster is made ot' leather, as shown in the drawings, the seam which terminates at the end a of the mouth is preferably re-enforeed by a strap, c, and an ordinary belt-loop, d, is also applied to the side of the holster, as shown.

I claim as my inventionl. A holster constructed of leather or other flexible material and having an open mouth whose lateral sides are contracted orconverged, as shown, so as to form shoulders, behind which the enlargements of the lweapon lie when the latter is entered, substantially as described, for the purposev specified.

2. A holster composed of leather or other flexible material and having a laterally-contracted mouth, formedby slitting the sides of the mouth and overlapping and securing.;` the 4. The holster having the sides of its mouth parts adjacent to the slits, substantially as contracted and the edges of said sides rounded 1o described. A or curved from point a to point a', substan- 3. The holster having; the lateral sides of its tially as described, for the purpose specified. mouth slitted and overlapped near the end a FRANK M. THOMSON. of the 1nouth,. so as to form shoulders b b', substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

Witnesses S. A. EMANUEL, J. B. NoNEs. 

